For the past year, Main Paige Media has been documenting the Merrimack River Cleanup video project. This has been especially meaningful to us because of its impact and because it was happening right here in our own community.

The Merrimack River Cleanup Initiative brought together five communities – Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen and Tyngsborough – around one shared natural resource and one shared goal: reducing trash and debris in the Merrimack River.

Supported by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission the project included installation of river booms to collect floating debris, volunteer shoreline cleanup events and public education efforts.

Documenting a year of Merrimack River Cleanup

Our involvement began through Matthew Erickson of Good Brand Partners. He brought us into the project when he received a request for a proposal that included a significant video and photography component. We partnered on the project, with Main Paige Media leading the multimedia work and Good Brand Partners developing design elements including signage and social media templates.

Over the course of the project, we captured video and photo of 5 volunteer cleanup events. We also produced 5 individual videos highlighting each municipality’s involvement.

Each community had its own story and its own goals for the finished content. Some wanted to encourage more residents to participate in future cleanups. Others saw the videos and photography as tools for presentations and future grant applications. Others wanted to remind residents of the important role the Merrimack plays in recreation, wildlife and drinking water.

Our job was to listen to each community and create content that could continue working for them long after the cleanup itself.

Volunteers and cleanup crews encountered bottles, cans, single-use plastics and other everyday litter. They also found traffic cones, a metal chair, a rug, a bicycle, automotive parts, a baby carriage and even a bowling ball. Seeing the volume and variety of what is removed makes the impact of these cleanup efforts very tangible. The Haverhill team even found a tire buried in the sand. 

Five communities, one river

One message came through again and again. Keeping the Merrimack clean requires communities to work together. What happens in one area of the river can have an impact many miles downstream.

It was wonderful to see residents getting outside, working alongside their neighbors and making a visible difference. The hope is that the cleanup days, river booms and community involvement that began through this initiative will continue well beyond the initial project.

Telling stories that help good work continue

For Main Paige Media, this project was about more than documenting cleanup days. It was about capturing a year-long regional effort. This allowed us to share the stories and images that can continue to serve these communities in the future.

We’re grateful to Merrimack Valley Planning Commission for trusting us to help tell this story, to Good Brand Partners for bringing us into the project, to Marian Siljeholm for capturing the still photography, and to the municipal teams, volunteers and partners doing the hands-on work to protect the Merrimack.

We’re glad we could play a part in documenting this important work. We love creating content that can help keep its momentum going.